Manu on the shelf for weeks, not days according the report. I'd assume he sits for the rest of the regular season. It has become time to either move on from Manu or sign him on the dirt cheap. Great player; heart, guts grit, all that but you gotta play to get paid. At least when you are dealing with small market money issues.

Once the legs/knees go, the player is done. You can have all the heart in the world and it won't make a difference.

Manu reminds me of Setshot in "The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh" - showing my age. He's beaten and battered and doesn't want to hang it up and the team and fanbase don't want to admit it.

Thanks Manu. We appreciate all you've done but now it is time to bid you adios!!

things happen for a reason, he is out and now we will see what we really have with Green and Leonard and even Jackson, we were not going to win with the way manu was playing anyways, we need that X factor just the same way Manu became one back in 2003 championship run, not afraid to take the shot, playmaker ,etc, can Leonard do it? will tony and timmy trust him more and let him create for him and others, if he can then we will win it, love Manu but you are right we are not able to depend on him any longer.

Manu has a small mid substance tear in his hammy. Spurs are being extra careful with this for sure. The problem we have is this, without Manu as the second player that can create on his own, and for others, we become a predictable team. Against poor and even good teams, our execution may be enough. Against the elite teams, we need to have him and his creativity. Even with the recent turnover and shooting woes, he is invaluable to us with all the little things he does. And his ability to have the rock in his hands as a second option to Tony in crunch time is crucial. The Heat double teamed Tony off the pick and roll, and the rest of our guards and forwards are more catch and shoot players, or pump fake and a dribble or 2. Lets hope he heals, and is at least around to give us 20 minutes a game in the play offs.

I don't know what's going on with Manu, but it might be time to throw his Nikes up into the powerline guide wires like the do in the hood when it's time to end someone. He's our Samuel Jackson from the movie Unbreakable.

Case in point tonite. One guy on our club we need to go to every possession down the stretch, to either score or assist. Tony played great, but made some bad decisions down the stretch. Manu has a knack for either hitting the big shot, even if he's having a bad shooting nite, or making the right pass. Tony had a wide open (I can't believe I'm even mentioning his name) Bonner on the last possession. But he forced up an off balance banker. I also can't believe we continue to make bad defensive rotations late. Not Conleys game winner, that wasn't bad D by Green. But Neal made a mental mistake by getting sucked in in the game tying 3. Up by 3 at that point, don't allow a wide open look like that. Make them score a contested 2, and our last possession has a different feel to it, still up by one. We have a lot to clean up before the playoffs.

We had Manu last year and it was the same result. Manu isn't the answer anymore. They needed to trade Manu and/or Jackson to bring in someone, in order to win this year. But the FO, just like the fanbase, is in denial and placing that last hope that if Manu is just healthy this team can win it all. Not true.

Completely incorrect. If anything, they needed to packagesny combo of a Neal- Bonner-Jackson-Blair package in return for another creator. Wouldn't even have to be a top of the line guy either. You can't win in the playoffs in this league with guys that excel primarily on spot up shooting. It's why Bonner never has, and never will be any type of a threat in the playoffs. It's why Green will struggle, but he can at least provide some pressure and athleticism. Neal too will be limited, but he has slightly more ability to put the ball on the floor. Jackson was a beast vs the Thunder because he gave us quality D, and was somewhat of a dual threat. In the coming years lets hope Nando can provide that too. But right now, we have no hope without Manu. None.

I would say that there is pretty much no hope, either way. But certainly a much better chance with Manu to advance to the WCF than without. Without, they stand a very good chance of going out in the first round. Trust me when I say this in all certainty and knowing, or don't. But I do know this to be true- The FO, the coaching staff, the team docs, the trainers, and the league, all know the Spurs are at least a threat if Manu is healthy. That is why the Spurs are doing what they are in terms of his rehab for the type of tear he has. He does not have a 4 week injury. But, they are doing whatever they can to make him ready for the playoffs. They also knew that they were not going to be abel to acquire the assets they needed with the ones they currently have. Which is why we are still playing with the team we have. Don't throw value money at bad money, so they were not going to make a bad trade that cap straps them. Balancing the team and the cap are what they do best. The Spurs have done an incredible job making guys like Green and Neal good players. They also have guys like Bonner, because they need to round out the team. He is a great team mate, and has one single particular asset. Which happens to be as good as any big man in the league. Trouble is, that alone will not translate into any help come most games, and certainly never a playoff game. So, I guess the long way around to the main point, Manu is a key to them in the playoffs. He doesn't need to average 15-18. He needs to make plays, be an end of the game option, do the little things he always has, bring the competitive presence, give a second threat to Tony in crunch time, and yes, probably be the back up point guard when it comes down to it. The FO not only thinks that, they know it. And they seem to be pretty spot on most of the time.

I would say that there is pretty much no hope, either way. But certainly a much better chance with Manu to advance to the WCF than without. Without, they stand a very good chance of going out in the first round. Trust me when I say this in all certainty and knowing, or don't. But I do know this to be true- The FO, the coaching staff, the team docs, the trainers, and the league, all know the Spurs are at least a threat if Manu is healthy. That is why the Spurs are doing what they are in terms of his rehab for the type of tear he has. He does not have a 4 week injury. But, they are doing whatever they can to make him ready for the playoffs. They also knew that they were not going to be abel to acquire the assets they needed with the ones they currently have. Which is why we are still playing with the team we have. Don't throw value money at bad money, so they were not going to make a bad trade that cap straps them. Balancing the team and the cap are what they do best. The Spurs have done an incredible job making guys like Green and Neal good players. They also have guys like Bonner, because they need to round out the team. He is a great team mate, and has one single particular asset. Which happens to be as good as any big man in the league. Trouble is, that alone will not translate into any help come most games, and certainly never a playoff game. So, I guess the long way around to the main point, Manu is a key to them in the playoffs. He doesn't need to average 15-18. He needs to make plays, be an end of the game option, do the little things he always has, bring the competitive presence, give a second threat to Tony in crunch time, and yes, probably be the back up point guard when it comes down to it. The FO not only thinks that, they know it. And they seem to be pretty spot on most of the time.

I would say you are dead on there.

__________________
Win or lose this is a game -
You could let it pick your brain for weeks and months, just replay it over and over, won't do you any good at all. When someone loses a loved one and they do that it only brings forth anguish. I feel acceptance is sometimes the key, it happened, now you have to react to it. Giving up is not an option.

Wow, how strange! People who devote their lives to analyzing Basketball talking about the importance of Manu, talking about a "down" year, instead of realizing that Manu is a bag of **** that the Spurs should disposed of as soon as they can, how strange! :sarcasm

I cannot believe the amount of disrespect he has on this forum. Even if he's having, as the text says "a down year" how could this lead to such a blind attitude. As I said before, I never saw anyone talking like this about many of the other players on the team when Manu was the one putting up big numbers and carrying the team in MANY senses and many of the others (including coaching and managerial decisions) were going against the team's success, just a couple of years from now, AFTER our last championship.

As I said before, I never saw anyone talking like this about many of the other players on the team when Manu was the one putting up big numbers and carrying the team in MANY senses and many of the others (including coaching and managerial decisions) were going against the team's success, just a couple of years from now, AFTER our last championship.

Yeah, that's bull. I stopped coming to this board specifically because I was sick of seeing Parker on the receiving end of talk exactly like this. Manu's always been the golden boy around here. You have to be blind to think that Manu hasn't taken a major step back and is still worth $14 million/year. Manu's no longer one of our three best players.

And you know what? That's alright. Manu's 35 bloody years old. He's years removed from his prime and he's still contributing significantly years past when most players hang 'em up. He had an incredible prime, too -- I maintain he deserved the Finals MVP in 2005, and without him we wouldn't have those last two championships. It's downright disrespectful to the strength of his career as a whole to belittle how amazing he was at his peak by suggesting that he hasn't taken several significant steps back. That's like suggesting Wizards-era Jordan was just as good as Bulls-era Jordan: it's an insult to Jordan's Bulls career to suggest that he was just as good as a Wizard. It's an insult to Ginobili's peak effectiveness to suggest that he hasn't taken an enormous step downward.

He's 35 damn years old. Know how many other 35+ year old players are averaging double figures this year? 8: Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton. Seven likely first-ballot Hall of Famers. What Manu is doing is still amazing, but don't patronize him or belittle his career accomplishments by suggesting he hasn't taken an enormous step down from his prime.

And you know what? That's alright. Manu's 35 bloody years old. He's years removed from his prime and he's still contributing significantly years past when most players hang 'em up. He had an incredible prime, too -- I maintain he deserved the Finals MVP in 2005, and without him we wouldn't have those last two championships. It's downright disrespectful to the strength of his career as a whole to belittle how amazing he was at his peak by suggesting that he hasn't taken several significant steps back. That's like suggesting Wizards-era Jordan was just as good as Bulls-era Jordan: it's an insult to Jordan's Bulls career to suggest that he was just as good as a Wizard. It's an insult to Ginobili's peak effectiveness to suggest that he hasn't taken an enormous step downward.

That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I don't feel the way he's treated is compatible with accepting what you just said. That's my feeling.

I never saw anyone talking like this about many of the other players on the team when Manu was the one putting up big numbers and carrying the team in MANY senses and many of the others (including coaching and managerial decisions) were going against the team's success, just a couple of years from now, AFTER our last championship.